1 in 4 US Mobile Subscribers Owned an iPhone in Q2

Smartphone penetration stands at about 60% of the US mobile market, according to new figures from comScore and Nielsen. The latest MobiLens data from comScore indicates that smartphone penetration was 59% during the 3-month period ending in June (Q2), flat from May, while Nielsen says smartphone owners accounted for 62% of mobile subscribers during Q2. One thing they both agree on: Apple has 40% of the smartphone market. That translates to 23.5% of all mobile subscribers, using comScore’s data, or 24.8% using Nielsen’s. That would mean almost 57 million US mobile subscribers had an iPhone. (For what it’s worth, that’s more than the amount of 18-29-year-olds in the US. Fun theoretical questions: which target audience gets more attention – iPhone owners or Millennials? Which group has more cohesive behaviors and attitudes?)

Of course, Apple’s not the leading smartphone platform, but it is growing in market share. Android, which currently owns 52% of the smartphone market, according to both comScore and Nielsen, had roughly the same (51.6%) share of the market this time last year, at least according to comScore’s figures. In the past year, Apple’s share has grown from 32.4% to 39.9%.

Those figures suggest that Android hasn’t been the victim of Apple’s market share gains. That dubious distinction belongs to BlackBerry. In fact, even with RIM’s recent releases, it has lost market share. From Q1 to Q2, its share dropped 0.8% points (to 4.4%). Android stayed put, while Apple’s share improved by 0.9% points.

Meanwhile, Apple remained the top OEM in Q2, per comScore’s figures, ahead of Samsung (23.7%), HTC (8.5%), Motorola (7.2%), and LG (6.6%).